Automatic phonograph



AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed April 25, 1950 4 Sheets-Sheet l Tra 1 A TTORNEYS.

Ap 17, 1934. E. E. coLLlsoN AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH 1930 4 rSheets--Sheet 2 Filed April 25 IN VEN TOR fon/aka Cozz. van.

ATTORNEY Ap 17,A 1934- E. E. coLLlsoN AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Filed April 25, 1930 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 BY A@ A TTORNEYS.

April 17, 1934- E. E. coLLlsoN 1,955,534

AUTouATl PHoNoGRAPH Filedpril 25. 1930 4 sheets-sheet 4 FIEI- 7 /20 1 m Vn I IZZ INI/EN TOR. fan/HRD E. COLL/50M Patented Apr. 17, 1934 UNITED STATES AUTOMATIC PHONOGRAPH Edward E. Collison, Fort Wayne, Ind., assignor to The Capelxart Corporation, Fort Wayne,

Ind.

Application April 25,

5 Claims.

This invention relates to an automatic record changing phonograph of a character which will continuously play a plurality of records on both sides thereof.

The object of the invention is to provide a machine of this character which will be of comparatively simple structure, positive and sure in its operation and economical to manufacture, the structure being so designed as Ato take up the minimum of space,

One feature of the invention resides in the means for moving a record from underneath a stack of superimposed records onto the turntable in playing position, comprising an endless chain having a dog thereon adapted to engage the edge of the record to be shifted. This feature of the invention distinguishes from the usual reciprocating member, as well as the usual oscillating member, both of which are required to stop and start before each operation. By means of this endless chain arrangement, the chain has an even rate of movement prior to engagement with the record and during the shifting operation.

Another feature of the invention resides in the auxiliary pushing members cooperating with the record transfer chain for engaging the edge of the record after it has been shifted to position on the turntable for centering the same over the turntable centering pin, whereby any danger of the record being shifted to a non-centering position will be eliminated.

A further feature of the invention resides in the fixed buttress against which the edge of the record is engaged while being transferred from the turntable to the top ofA the magazine in inverted position, said buttress being so positioned and arranged as to prevent movement of the adjacent edge of the record so as to facilitate the upsetting thereof.

A further feature of the invention resides in the supporting members for the stack of records, comprising a plurality of longitudinally extending supporting tracks adapted to support the center portion of the record intermediate the periphery thereof, as well as the peripheral edge so as to prevent warpage of the record while at the same time permit the ready sliding movement thereover onto the turntable.

Still another feature of the invention resides in t-he circuit controlling cams for making and breaking the several circuits to the driving motors, whereby upon completion of the playing of a. record the circuit to the turntable motor will be broken and the circuit to the record changing motor completed, the circuit to the turntable 1930, serial No. 447,311

motor being completed upon a new record being in place before the circuit to the record changing motor is broken. 'I'his permits of an overlapping time interval to permit the record to revolve at maximum speed before the reproducer is lowered into contact therewith.

Furthermore, the switch control mechanism is so constructed as to cause the machine to continue in its operation to a predetermined position after the master switch has been turned to break the master circuit, whereupon after reaching the predetermined position ready for the playing of the next record all circuits will be broken and the machine come to rest. This is accomplished by a simple cam operating mechanism as will be hereinafter described.

A further feature of the invention resides in the actuating mechanism for the record changlng arms comprising a rack and pinion movement vof simple character for raising the arms to throw the record in inverted position on the top of the stack.

Still another feature resides in the speed control mechanism for the electric motor driven turntable whereby the speed of the turntable may be readily controlled from a convenient position adjacent thereto.

Other features of the invention including the mechanism for controlling the tone arm so as to elevate and move it to and from the record, will be hereinafter more fully set forth and described. Y

The full nature of the invention will be understood from the accompanying drawings and the following description and claims:

Fig. 1 is a plan view looking down upon the instrument showing a record in playing position and a stack of records in the magazine, parts thereof being broken away. Fig. 2 is a side ele.-4 vation of the machine as illustrated in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view looking down on the driving mechanism with parts broken away. Fig. 4 is a diagrammatic illustration of the mechanism for actuating the record removing arms in the act of inverting a recordfrom the turntable to the top of the stack. Fig. 5 is a view illustrating the speed control mechanism. Fig. 6 is a view illustrating the record centering fingers. Fig. 'l is a side elevation of the switch control mecha nism with a side wail of the control box removed. Flg. 8 is a diagrammatic illustration o! the control circuit. Fig. 9 is a side elevation of the circuit breaker.

As shown in the drawings there is a table support 10 above which the turntable 11 is rotatably mounted. To one side of the turntable 11 there is provided a magazine adapted to hold a plurality of records 12 which are supported with their faces in direct contact with each other in stacked relation upon the side bars 13, intermediate bars 14 and the center bars 15. The records are held in substantial alignment by the side uprights 16 and the rear uprights 17. The front of the magazine is protected by the cross bar 18. Pivotally mounted at one side of the table 10 there is a tone arm 19 having a reproducer 20 mounted thereon.

In this type of machine, the bottom record of the stack held in the magazine is engaged by a dog 2l secured to the endless chain 22 which moves forwardly so as to engage the rear edge of the bottom record and slide it forwardly on the bars 13, 14 and 15 into' playing position on the turntable so that the center opening thereof passes over the turntable centering pin 23. Upon completion of the playing of the record the tone arm is swung out of the way to one side and the played record 12a is engaged by the lifting arms 24 and raised so that its inner edge abuts against the fixed buttresses 25 causing it to tilt over and drop onto the top of the stack in the magazine in inverted position. Thereupon, the record is substantially centered on top of the stack by the swinging arm 26 which swings about in position to engage the forward edge of the record and push it back against the rear upright 17.

In this movement the record falls back over the front cross bar 18 and the arms 24 drop back into position below the level of the turntable as the new. record is caused to slide from the bottom of the stack-intojplarying position.

The record changing mechanism is driven from the record changing motor 27 which is suspended from a framework on the under-side of the table 10. The motor 27 drives the pulley 28 through the belt 29. The pulley 28 is keyed to a shaft 30 extending into the gear housing 31. said shaft driving. the worm 32. The worm 32 drives the worm wheel 33 which in turn drives the pinion 34. Said pinion meshes with the gear 35 which drives a shaft 36 upon which there is a spacing collar 37. Keyed to the shaft 36 there is provided a. plurality of cams indicated at 38. 39 and 40 for controlling the record changing mechanism and the tone arm. On the extreme outer end of said shaft there are also cams 41. 42 and 43, controlling the switch mechanism of the various circuits.

Mounted immediately above the housing there is a gear 44 which meshes with and is driven by the gear 38, said gear 44 being keyed to the shaft 45 supported in the bearings 46. Between the bearings 46 there is a sprocket wheel 47 which drives the chain 22 over the idler sprocket wheel 48. Through this medium, upon themotor 27 being energized the endless sprocket chain 22 is set in motion so as to carry the dog' 2l into engagement withthe rear edge of Va record and slide it from underneath the stack onto the turntable.

'I'he arms 24. are keyed to the cross rod 49 kwhich is pivotally mounted in the bearings 50,

one end of said rod being keyed to a segmental gear 51 which meshes with the arcuate gear 52. Said arcuate gear is-formed on the upper end of the lever 53 which is pivotally mounted at its lower end at 54. 'I'he cam 39 is positioned to engage the lever 53 for forcing it forward against the tension of the spring 55. Through this medium, the rotation of the shaft 36 driven bythe record changing motor 27 will force the arcuate rack 52 forward so as to cause the arms 24 to raise about the pivotal mounting of the rod 49 to the position shown in full lines in Fig. 4. This movement will raise the record 12a from the turntable and tilt it over on top of the stack of records 12 as indicated in Fig. 4.

The delivery of the inverted record on top of the stack by the arms 24 is followed by a movement of the rod 26 which swings about its pivotal mounting 59 so that the downwardlyj extending free end thereof engages the forward end of the record that has been dropped in inverted position on top of the stack so as to push it back on the stack in substantial alignment with the other records. This rod is actuated by means of the arm 58 which isconnected to its pivotal mounting 59 extending vertically through the bearing 57. The arm 58 is keyed tothe pivotal mounting 59 at the lower end thereof, the free end of said arm being pivotally connected with the rod 60 which is in turn connected with the lever 6i pivotally connected to the frame of the machine at 62.

`Said arm is in position. to be engaged and actuated by the cam 40 which is driven as heretofore described from the motor 27 in timed relation to swing the rod 26 back and forth, said arm being yieldingly maintained in normal position against the action of the cam by the spring 55 which has its endssecured to said arms 53 and 61.

For the purpose of more accurately centering the record over the centering pin 23 of the turntable, the centering fingers 63 are employed. Said fingers are pivotally mounted immediately below the periphery of the turntable as. illustrated in Fig. 1 and suitable notches are provided in the bar 18 to permit them to freely pass to upright position. In normal position they are adapted to lie horizontally out of the way of caused to rise to vertical position as illustratedv in Fig. 6, yieldingly engaging the record as hereinafter described for pushing it further into position so that the center hole will drop over the centering pin of the turntable in event it has not been moved far enough by the dog 21.

Inasmuch as these lingers are substantially spaced apart, they will engage the edge of the record in spaced relation so that if the record has been positioned to one side, only one of the fingers will engage it and push it back into center position. Said fingers are keyed to a shaft 64 mounted in the bearing 65, said shaft having an arm 66 extending downwardly therefrom in position to be 'engaged by the plate 67 which is pivotally mounted at 68 on the cam 38, said plate being yieldingly held in normal position by the spring 69 having one end connected to an extension on the plate and the other end connected to said cam. Thus, upon rotation of the cam through the medium of the motor driven shaft 36 at the proper time, the plate will cause the fingers 63 to swing forward andupwardly to engage the edge of the record and center it. However, the spring 69 permit". a yielding action so that the movement of the arms is governed by the tension of the spring 69 whereby they will have a yielding engagement with theA record.

The tone arm 19 is pivotally mounted at its rear end for vertical movement about the pivotal connections 70 upon the swivel mounting 7 1 supported by the standard 72 so as to swivel from record engaging position as illustrated in Fig. 1 free of the turntable for permitting the record to be removed therefrom. The rod 73 extends downwardly through the center of the swivel mounting 71 so as to rest upon the lever 74.

The upper end of the rod 73 freely engages the under-side of the tone arm so that when said rod is elevated through the medium of the lever 74 it pushes the tone arm upwardly to disengage the record, and when it is lowered it permits the reproducer to be lowered into record playing position. The lever 74 is fulcrumed at 75, the other end thereof being engaged and actuated by the cam 76 which is keyed to the shalt 36, said arm being maintained in normal position against the action of the cam by the spring 77. Through the medium thereof, upon rotation of the shaft 36 the tone arm is raised and lowered at the proper time to permit the reproducer to be disengaged from the record and be re-engaged therewith after the record has been changed.

For swinging the tone arm free of the turntable after the reproducer has been disengaged from the record as above described, the arm 78 is connected to the lower side of the swivel mounting 71 whereby the movement thereof will cause a corresponding movement of the tone arm. One end of the lever 78 is provided with the downwardly extending pin 79 in position to be engaged by the reduced end portion 80 of the lever 81, said lever 81 being pivoted to the underneath part of the table l0 at 82. For actuating the lever 81, there is a rod 83 which is pivotally connected to the upper end of the arm 84, which arm is pivoted to the housing 31 at the lower end thereof at 85. Said arm is provided with a roller 86 thereon adapted to be engaged by the cam 38 as illustrated in Fig. 6.

By means of this construction, upon rotation of the cam 38 actuated by the motor 27 the arm 83 will be actuated to cause an oscillating movement of the lever 81. The forward movement thereof will cause the portion 80 of the lever to engage the pin 79 and swing the tone arm outwardly clear of the record and turntable. The opposite or inward movement caused primarily by the tension of the spring 89 will cause a hook 90 to engage said pin on the return movement and swing the tone arm into playing position. The hook 90 is pivoted to the arm 81, together with the rod 83 at 91 and may be adjusted with respect thereto by the set screw 92, whereby the inward positioning of the tone arm may be adjusted to the proper diameter of the record.

The turntable is rotated by a separate electric motor 93 through suitable reduction gears not herein shown connected with the centering pin 23. The main shaft of the motor 95 is provided with the usual governor 96 xed at one end 'of the shaft as at 97, having the other end thereof xed to the slding sleeve 98. The friction disk 99 is mounted on one end of the sleeve, said disk having suitable recesses to permit the free movement of the spring supports for the governor. Surrounding the governor there is a housing 100 to which is `fixedly secured the spring plate 101 having a. felt friction pad 102 mounted thereon in position to engage with the surface of the friction disk 99.

' The upper end of the plate is in position to be engaged by the cam 103 mounted on the shaft 104 extending upwardly through the table 10 and connected with the adjusting knob 105. By means of this construction and the positioning of the felt friction pad 102 through the medium of the knob 105, the speed of the electric motor 93 may be readily controlled.

For electrically controlling the machine there is provided a mercury switch 106 carried by a lever 107 pivotally mounted at 108 on a switch plate 109, as illustrated in Fig. 9. Said mercury switch is provided with the terminals 110 adapted to be bridged by the mercury contained in the switch when it is tilted forward through the medium of the spring 111. The switch is held in the position illustrated with the circuit therethrough broken by reason of the upper end of the lever 107 catching in the notch formed in the bar 112. Said bar is pivoted to the plate 109 at 113 and is normally held in upright position by the -spring 114. When the bar is depressed against the tension of the. spring 114, the arm 107 is released so as to,be actuated by the spring 111 which will tilt the mercury switch forward and complete a circuit through the terminals 110. This occurs upon the completion of the record being played. The arm 78 connected with the tone arm has pivoted to a downward projection thereon a pawl 115 held in normal position by a counterweight formed thereon 116. As the tone arm is swung across the playing surface of the record, the pawl 115 approaches the toothed plate 117. Also, the outwardly extending pin 118 is positioned to engage the inclined surface 119 adjustably mounted on the bar 112.

Depending upon the type of center groove in the record, either the dog or the pin will force the bar 112 downwardly so as to cause the mercury switch to complete the circuit to the electric record changing motor 27 to start said motor and the record changing mechanism.

A switch control box 120 is mounted adjacent the switch actuating cams 41, 42 and 43. This box contains three separate spring switches 121, 122 and 123 normally arranged with their respective circuits broken. Pivotally mounted upon the forward end of the switch box and extending therethrough there are. a plurality of actuating levers 124, 125 and 126 in position to engage the cams 4l, 42 and 43, respectively, and also their respective switches 121, 122 and 123. The ends of said levers riding upon the cams will be forced upwardly to close their respective switches and the cams will permit them to drop down and allow the switches to open and break their respective circuits.

The operation of the control of the circuits will be best understood from the diagrammatic illustration in Fig. 8 wherein there is illustrated a source of current having one pole connected to the record changing motor 27 and turntable motor 93. The other pole of the source of current is connected to the master switch 123.

The manually operated switch 127 and the mercury switch 106 are shunted across the master switch so that the circuit may be manually completed regardless of the position of either of the switches 123 or 106. The switch 121 connects the circuit between the record changfng motor 27 and the master switch, and the switch 122 completes a circuit between the turntable motor 93 and the master switch.

When the machine comes to rest after the opening of the manual switch 127, a record is in playing position but the tone arm has not been moved into position to engage the reproducer therewith. rEhe mercury switch 106 is open, and also the master switch 123. The switches 121 and iis 122 are closed. To start the operation of the machine, the manual switch 127 is closed, thereby energizing and simultaneously starting both motors through their respective switches 121 and 122. 'I'his causes the turntable to start rotating and causes the tone arm to be brought into playing position.V As soon as the reproducer engages the record, the cam 41 is brought in position to open the switch 121, thereby stopping the record changing motor. The record will then continue to play until the end is reached, whereupon through its action upon the mercury switch 106, the circuit will be closed therethrough which will again energize the record changing motor irrespective of the open switches 127 and 121.

The record changing motor will then rotate cam 42 to a position to immediately break the circuit through the switch 122 and cause the turntable to stop rotating, and will also act to return the merury switch 106 to its normal position so as to break the circuit therethrough, the switch 121 having been closed immediately upon the motor 27 being actuated and before the switch 106 is open.

The records will continue to be changed until the master cam 43 reaches the position to open the master switch 123. Upon said switch being opened, the switches 121 and 122 will have been closed, wherefore the circuit to both motors will be broken and the machine come to rest with the records changed and the new record in playing position provided the switch 127 has been manually opened to stop the machine. If the switch 127 still remains closed, the record changing motor 27 will continue to be energized and the turntable motor 93 will become energized owing to its switch 121 being closed so that the machine begins a new cycle of operation.

Thus, the machine is controlled to come to rest only at a predetermined position in event the switch 4127 has been opened at or prior to its reaching such position. However, as long as the manual switch `127 remains closed, the machine y will continue to repeat its cycle of operation.

The cycle of operation may be briefly described as follows: When the machine is at rest the record is in playing position with the tone arm at one side of the turntable. Upon closing the switch 127 both motors will be energized, the turntable will start rotating the record and the record changing -motor through the mechanism above described will bring the tone arm over the periphery of the record and lower the reproducer thereon. Thereupon the cam 41 will open the switch 121 and the record changing motor will cease to operate. The record will then be played until the position or movement of the tone arm at the end of the record actuates the mercury switch 106 which completes a new circuit through the record changing motor 27 and causes it to again operate. Thus, the cam 42 will be turned to a position to open the switch 122 and de--energize the turntable motor, bringing the turntable to rest. 'Ihe record changing motor will continue to operate the mechanism above described to pick the record up from the turntable on the arms 24, causing the edge of the record to slide against the abutments 25 whereby it will be tilted over and dropped in an inverted position over the bar 18 onto the stack of records 12.

The rod 26 will then be swung around into engagement with the exposed edge of the record to push it back into substantial alignment with the stack, said rod returning to its normal position immediately followed by the lowering of the arms 24 just in time to permit a new record to be shifted from underneath the stack onto the turntable by the endless chain 22. Said record will then be centered by the operation of the centering arms 63.

With respect to the tone arm, as above described, the reproducer will have been picked up off the record and the tone arm swung to one side of the turntable to permit the record to be lifted therefrom and a new record vshifted into playing position, whereupon said mechanism will cause the tone arm to be swung back to initial playing position and lowered so that the reproducer engages the record after the turntable has been brought to full speed of rotation.

The invention claimed is:

1. An automatic phonograph having a rotating turntable, a magazine adapted to hold a stack of records adjacent thereto, an endless chain, means for intermittently driving said chain in a direction radial to the center of the turntable, and a projection formed on said chain in position to engage only the exposed record of the stack for moving it onto said turntable.

2. An automatic record changing mechanism for phonographs having a record rotating turntable, a magazine positioned adjacent said turntable, means for tilting the record upwardly from said turntable for overturning it on the records contained in said magazine, and a flxed buttress positioned intermediate said magazine and turntable against which said record is engaged for holding the edge thereof against lateral movement while being overturned.

3. An automatic record changing phonograph having a turntable and a magazine for containing a plurality of records at one side thereof, a tone arm, mechanism for interchanging records between said magazine and turntable, an electric motor for driving said turntable, a second electric motor for driving said record interchanging mechanism, a plurality of cams driven by said second mentioned motor, switches actuated by said cams, said cams being so formed and arranged with respect to each other as to open and close said switches at predetermined times during the operation of said machine for causing the turntable motor to start before the reproducer engages the record and said second motor to stop immediately upon said record being engaged, and a switch actuated by said tone arm for energizing said second motor immedi- 'ately upon the end of the record being reached to cause said turntable motor to stop and set in motion the record interchanging mechanism, said cams being further adapted to automatically cause both motors to be deenergized and the machine to come to rest in a predetermined position.

4. An automatic phonograph having a rotating turntable, a magazine adapted to hold a stack of records adjacent thereto and substantially in a parallel plane thereto, said records being supported in said stack one upon the other, an endless chain mounted below said stack oi records and extending diametrically thereof toward the center of said turntable. means on said chain for selecting and engaging an exposed record of the stack and moving it in the plane of said turntable to be deposited thereon, and means for intermittently driving said chain so as to permit the same to come to rest after the record has been so deposited on said turntable and is being reproduced.

5. An automatic phonograph having a rotatfor intermittently driving said chain so`as to permit the same to come to rest after the record has been so deposited on said turntable, and mechanismpositioned intermediate said turntable and stack of records operated in timed relation with said chain for engaging and centering the record on the turntable after being transferred thereto from said magazine.

EDWARD E. COLLISON. 

